Tips to Mingle Memorably and Navigate the Networking of Life's Events

February 12, 2005

A recent Wall Street Journal article about a corporate conference call that went awry brought back a bitter memory for me. But as an author and speaker and now blogger, I get to include these gaffes and goofs in my books, speeches and now, in my blog as 1. Lessons 2. Revenge. Either/or/both.

People wonder where authors get our material and speakers get our original stories. Well, it's from some of the brilliant things that happen and from those that are stupid beyond description. I was invited to speak for an association that was meeting in San Francisco. One person who knew me and my speaking reputation asked me to address all the international members and she gave me carte blanche, trusting me to do the best job possible.

The other presentation was micro- managed by two people who can best be described as anal -retentive... a trait that may be beneficial in some circumstances. But I just can't think of one. These two organizational development "experts" treated me as if I had not had over two decades as a keynote speaker and had no idea of the content of my three books. What a contrast to their colleague who was more than supportive!

One day, after a conference call, I tried to make another call when I "heard voices". This is often a sign of insanity and it truly was... their insane and inane ineptitude. These brilliant managers didn't 'manage' to disconnect the conference call feature. So much for brilliance. I heard everything they said. And it wasn't pretty.

Colleagues advised me to tell them of their faux pas and decline their invite. But I am from the generation that values one's word as gold. So I bit the bullet and my tongue. And then I wrote about these two technologically inept people in a book and am doing it now. It's delicious. Their names? Would love to tell. But, in this litigious society, I can’t reveal them but I can tell you that they worked for a well-known DC -based association of trainers seven years ago.

The moral of this story is: DO NOT use techie features unless you really have the know - how. OR you may lose your Know -WHO or reputation or job! It all goes back to the premise of How To Create Your Own Luck ---- you never know!